Death Valley National Park, California
February 23-26, 2011
Death Valley National Park is a zone between the Great Basin and Mojave deserts in the U.S. The park contains a diverse environment of salt flats, sand dunes, badlands, valleys, canyons and mountains and has been declared an international biosphere reserve. It is the hottest and driest of the national parks and the second lowest point in the western hemisphere is located at Badwater Basin which is 282 feet below sea level. The environment of the area has been shaped largely by its geology; some of the oldest rocks are 1.7 billion years old. Death Valley is an amazing park to explore with so much diversity to uncover. We were also able to connect with our friends from New Zealand and explore the park together.
Our Accommodations - Sunset Campground and Stovepipe Wells Campground
We camped at two of the developed campgrounds within Death Valley Park.
One was called Sunset Campground and the other Stovepipe Wells Campground.
Both were very similar.
The Salt Flats
Death Valley contains an area which is the hottest and lowest point in North America. Here at the Salt Flats, we were at the actual lowest point at 282 feet below sea level!
We were able to connect with our friends from New Zealand and explore the park together.
Sidewinder Canyon
This wasn't an official trail so it was a little bit difficult to find the proper route but the ultimate goal was to find a narrow canyon that you hike through. We're still not sure if we got it completely right but we did find a canyon and enjoyed the day nonetheless!
Zabriskie's Point
Zabriskie's Point is a fantastic lookout point! The terrain in Death Valley is so diverse with so many kinds of formations and colors. This is just one example.
Mosaic Canyon
Mosaic Canyon was another great hike! The trail lead through twisty and carved out rock walls with awesome canyon formations and it had so many colors and textures along the way.
Mesquite Sand Dunes
Mesquite Sand Dunes were located near our campground and it was amazing to see miles and miles of sand!